The Thai baht eased while shares tumbled
almost 2% ahead of the central bank's policy review on
Wednesday, while Indian equities jumped as the country's central
bank announced measures for lenders and small businesses amid a devastating COVID-19 wave.
In a data-packed day for Asia, most currencies traded flat
to higher against the U.S. dollar, while Philippines and
Singapore shares slid and Taiwan's were up 0.5%.
Trading volumes were thin due to holidays in major finance
hubs China and Japan.
The baht fell 0.2% and shares declined to
their worst day in three-months on resuming trade after holidays
this week as the trade-and-tourism-reliant economy battles a
deadly wave of COVID-19 infections.
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is expected to leave its key rate
at a record low of 0.50%, with analysts widely forecasting no
change to rates for the rest of the year but the central bank is
expected to provide fiscal support measures such as buying
government bonds.
The baht, already Asia's worst performing currency this
year, is expected to remain weak in the coming months
considering the pressure to its current account from a
disruption to exports, Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM said.
"Ultimately, a weaker baht would serve as a tailwind once
foreign tourism can be restored to bolster its economic
recovery."
Financials lifted India's NSE Nifty 50 0.6% as the
central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, in an unscheduled
address, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to
provide fresh debt moratoriums to some small borrowers.
Reference: Reuters
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